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United States Patent |
5,104,162
|
Watanabe
|
April 14, 1992
|
Apparatus for aligning and assembling clutch plates and clutch guides in
a multiple disk clutch
Abstract
There is disclosed a method and apparatus for aligning and assembling
disk-shaped works having projections on outer peripheries thereof.
A vessel-shaped work is positioned and a plurality of disk-shaped works in
a stacked condition are guided to a position on the opening edge of the
vessel-shaped work by the work guide means, and then the pin provided for
up and down movement on the rotary head is either inserted between
adjacent ones of the projections of the disk-shaped works or contacted
with and stopped by an upper face of one of the projections of the
disk-shaped works. Also when the pin is stopped by the upper face of the
one projection, as the rotary head is rotated, the pin is moved in the
circumferential direction of the disk-shaped works so that it is
disengaged from the upper face of the one projection and then engaged with
an adjacent one of the projections of the disk-shaped work. Thus, the
disk-shaped works are finally rotated in an integral relationship by the
pin. Accordingly, the projections of the disk-shaped works are
successively aligned with and fitted into the recessed grooves of the
vessel-shaped work beginning with the lowermost one of the disk-shaped
works. In this manner, the plurality of disk-shaped works are finally
assembled in an aligned condition to the inside of the vessel-shaped work.
Inventors:
|
Watanabe; Tohru (Zama, JP)
|
Assignee:
|
Shin Caterpillar Mitsubishi Ltd. (Tokyo, JP)
|
Appl. No.:
|
445759 |
Filed:
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December 4, 1989 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
Current U.S. Class: |
29/274 |
Intern'l Class: |
B25B 027/14 |
Field of Search: |
29/433,468,464,241,274,467,271
|
References Cited
U.S. Patent Documents
1941022 | Dec., 1933 | Shelley | 29/468.
|
3099875 | Aug., 1963 | Lelis | 29/274.
|
3686739 | Aug., 1972 | Manero | 29/274.
|
4071940 | Feb., 1978 | Hazelton | 29/468.
|
4231147 | Nov., 1980 | Witt | 29/274.
|
4564994 | Jan., 1986 | Marx | 29/468.
|
4640294 | Feb., 1987 | Ordo | 29/274.
|
4712974 | Dec., 1987 | Kane | 29/468.
|
4921397 | May., 1990 | Watanabe.
| |
Foreign Patent Documents |
163827 | Sep., 1983 | JP.
| |
Primary Examiner: Rosenbaum; Mark
Assistant Examiner: Chin; Frances
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Wegner, Cantor, Mueller and Player
Parent Case Text
This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 305,013,
filed Feb. 2, 1989, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,910,856.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An apparatus for assembling a plurality of disk-shaped works having
projections formed on outer peripheries thereof to a vessel-shaped work
having recessed grooves formed on an inner periphery thereof with said
projections of said disk-shaped works fitted in said recessed grooves of
said vessel-shaped work comprising:
work guide means mounted for up and down movement for positioning said
vessel-shaped work at a predetermined position and for guiding said
plurality of disk-shaped works in a stacked condition to a position on an
opening edge of said vessel-shaped work;
a rotary head mounted for rotation in a coaxial relationship with and above
said work guide means;
a pin mounted for up and down movement on said rotary head at a radial
position of said projections of said disk-shaped works over a distance
sufficient to cover the overall height of said disk-shaped works in the
stacked condition;
means for resiliently urging said pin to move downwardly until an end of
said pin reaches a position between adjacent ones of said projections of a
lowermost one of said disk-shaped works in the stacked condition;
means for rotationally driving said rotary head; and
a pusher adapted to push said disk-shaped works downwardly so as to
facilitate dropping of said disk-shaped works into the inside of said
vessel-shaped work and means for driving said pusher.
2. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein a plurality of pins are
mounted for up and down movement on said rotary head with an irregularly
spaced relationship.
3. The apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said plurality of pins are
divided into two groups, one group being disposed on a circumferential
line of a predetermined radius from the center of said rotary head and the
other group being disposed on a circumferential line of another
predetermined radius from the center of said rotary head.
4. An automatic assembling apparatus for multiple disk clutch comprising:
a work stacking mechanism for stacking a plurality of clutch plates having
projections formed thereon and clutch disks alternately, said work
stacking mechanism including first stocking means for stocking a plurality
of stacked clutch plates at a predetermined first work supply position,
second stocking means for stocking a plurality of stacked clutch disks at
a predetermined second work supply position, means for receiving said
clutch plates and said clutch disks alternately, a stacking arm pivotally
mounted for rocking motion between said first and second work supply
positions and said receiving means, and chuck means mounted on said
stacking arm for chucking the uppermost clutch plate and clutch disk
alternately;
transporting means for transporting said alternately stacked clutch plates
and clutch disks to an assembling position; and
an assembling mechanism for assembling said alternately stacked clutch
plates and clutch disks into a clutch guide having recessed grooves formed
on an inner periphery thereof, said assembling mechanism including a work
guide mounted for up and down movement for positioning said clutch guide
at a predetermined position and for guiding said alternately stacked
clutch plates and clutch disks to a position on an opening edge of said
clutch guide, a rotary head mounted for rotation in a coaxial relationship
with and above said work guide, a pin mounted for up and down movement on
said rotary head at a radial position of said projections of said clutch
plates over a distance sufficient to cover the overall height of said
stacked clutch plates and clutch disks, means for resiliently urging said
pin to move downwardly until an end of said pin reaches a position between
adjacent ones of said projections of a lowermost one of said clutch
plates, and means for rotationally driving said rotary head.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to an automatic assembling apparatus for
disk-shaped works, and more particularly to a method of and an apparatus
for aligning and assembling such disk-shaped works having projections on
outer peripheries thereof as clutch plates which are assembled in an
alternate relationship with a plurality of clutch disks to the inside of a
clutch guide in order to form a multiple disk clutch.
A large number of projections are formed in a predetermined pitch on an
outer periphery of each of clutch plates which constitute a multiple disk
clutch. The projections of the clutch plates are individually fitted for
sliding movement in an axial direction in recessed grooves formed on an
inner peripheral wall of a clutch guide. In production of a multiple disk
clutch having such a construction as described above, at first clutch
plates and clutch disks are supplied to a predetermined stacking position
by separate transporting means and stacked in an alternate relationship
there, and then the projections of the individual clutch plates are
aligned with and fitted into the recessed grooves of the clutch guide by
hand in order to fit the clutch plates and the clutch disks in an
alternately stacked relationship in the clutch guide.
A considerable clearance is not left between the projections of the clutch
plates and the recessed grooves of the clutch guide. Accordingly,
alignment of the projections with the recessed grooves is not easy.
Besides, since a plurality of such clutch plates and clutch disks must
necessarily be stacked in an alternate relationship and then assembled to
a single clutch guide, the assembling operation is cumbersome, and also
where it is intended to mechanize the assembling operation, there is a
problem that the equipment will be complicated.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of and an
apparatus for aligning and assembling disk-shaped works having projections
on peripheral faces thereof to a vessel-shaped work.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an automatic
assembling apparatus for a multiple disk clutch which includes clutch
plates and clutch disks stacked in an alternate relationship.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
method of assembling a plurality of disk-shaped works having projections
formed on outer peripheries thereof to a vessel-shaped work having
recessed grooves formed on an inner periphery thereof with said
projections of said disk-shaped works fitted in said recessed grooves of
said vessel-shaped work, comprising the steps of placing a plurality of
disk-shaped works on an opening edge of a vessel-shaped work, resiliently
projecting a pin at a radial position at which said projections are
provided with respect to the center of said disk-shaped works until either
said pin extends through said disk-shaped works between adjacent ones of
said projections or an end of said pin is contacted with and stopped by an
upper face of one of said projections of said disk-shaped works, and
moving said pin in a circumferential direction of said disk-shaped works
to disengage, when said end of said pin is stopped by the one projection,
said pin from the one projection until said pin is engaged with another
projection in the circumferential direction and rotates the disk-shaped
work, whereby said disk-shaped works are dropped into the inside of said
vessel-shaped work beginning with the lowermost one the projections of
which are aligned with the recessed grooves of the vessel-shaped work.
With the method, in case the resiliently projected pin is contacted with
and stopped by an upper face of one of the projections of the disk-shaped
works, when the pin is moved in the circumferential direction, the end of
the pin is disengaged from the upper face of the one projection. Then,
even if the end of the pin is engaged with an upper face of a projection
of another disk-shaped work below, it will be soon disengaged from the
upper face of the projection in a similar manner during subsequent
continued circumferential motion of the pin. In this manner, the pin is
finally cleared of all of the projections of the disk-shaped works in the
stacked condition Further by such circumferential motion of the pin, the
pin is engaged with adjacent projections of the disk-shaped works and
rotates the disk-shaped works until the projections thereof are aligned
with each other Thus, the disk-shaped works in the stacked condition are
rotated in an integral relationship, and during such rotation of the
disk-shaped works, at an instant when the projections are aligned with the
recessed grooves of the vessel-shaped work, the disk-shaped works are
successively admitted into the vessel-shaped work beginning with the
lowermost one.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an
apparatus for assembling a plurality of disk-shaped works having
projections formed on outer peripheries thereof to a vessel-shaped work
having recessed grooves formed on an inner periphery thereof with said
projections of said disk-shaped works fitted in said recessed grooves of
said vessel-shaped work, comprising work guide means mounted for up and
down movement for positioning said vessel-shaped work at a predetermined
position and for guiding said plurality of disk-shaped works in a stacked
condition to a position on an opening edge of said vessel shaped work, a
rotary head mounted for rotation in a coaxial relationship above said work
guide, a pin mounted for up and down movement on said rotary head at
radial position of said projections of said disk-shaped works over a
distance sufficient to cover the overall height of said disk-shaped works
in the stacked condition, means for resiliently urging said pin to move an
end of said pin to a position between adjacent ones of said projections of
a lowermost one of said disk-shaped works in the stacked condition, and
rotational driving means for rotating said rotary head.
With the apparatus, a vessel-shaped work is positioned and a plurality of
disk-shaped works in a stacked condition are guided to a position on the
opening edge of the vessel-shaped work by the work guide means, and then
the pin provided for up and down movement on the rotary head is either
inserted between adjacent ones of the projections of the disk-shaped works
or contacted with and stopped by an upper face of one of the projections
of the disk-shaped works Also when the pin is stopped by the upper face of
the one projection, as the rotary head is rotated, the pin is moved in the
circumferential direction of the disk-shaped works so that it is
disengaged from the upper face of the one projection and then engaged with
an adjacent one of the projections of the disk-shaped work. Thus, the
disk-shaped works are finally rotated in an integral relationship by the
pin. Accordingly, the projections of the disk-shaped works are
successively aligned with and fitted into the recessed grooves of the
vessel-shaped work beginning with the lowermost one of the disk-shaped
works. In this manner, the plurality of disk-shaped works are finally
assembled in an aligned condition to the inside of the vessel-shaped work.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is
provided an automatic assembling apparatus for multiple disk clutch
comprising a work stacking mechanism for stacking a plurality of clutch
plates having projections formed thereon and clutch disks alternately,
transporting means for transporting said alternately stacked clutch plates
and clutch disks to an assembling position, and an assembling mechanism
for assembling said alternately stacked clutch plates and clutch disks
into a clutch guide having recessed grooves formed on an inner periphery
thereof.
Said work stacking mechanism includes first stocking means for stocking a
plurality of stacked clutch plates at a predetermined first work supply
position, second stocking means for stocking a plurality of stacked clutch
disks at a predetermined second work supply position, means for receiving
said clutch plates and said clutch disks alternately, a stacking arm
pivotally mounted for rocking motion between said first and second work
supply positions and said receiving means, and chuck means mounted on said
stacking arm for chucking the uppermost clutch plate and clutch disk
alternately.
Said assembling mechanism includes a work guide mounted for up and down
movement for positioning said clutch guide at a predetermined position and
for guiding said alternately stacked clutch plates and clutch disks to a
position on an opening edge of said clutch guide, a rotary head mounted
for rotation in a coaxial relationship with and above said work guide, a
pin mounted for up and down movement on said rotary head at a radial
position of said projections of said clutch plates over a distance
sufficient to cover the overall height of said stacked clutch plates and
clutch disks, means for resiliently urging said pin to move downwardly
until an end of said pin to reach a position between adjacent ones of said
projections of a lowermost one of said clutch plates, and means for
rotationally driving said rotary head.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present
invention will become more apparent from the following description taken
in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic representation showing an entire arrangement of an
automatic assembling apparatus for a multiple disk clutch;
FIGS. 2A and 2B are a plan view and a side elevational view of a clutch
guide, respectively;
FIGS. 3A and 3B are a plan view and a side elevational view of a clutch
plate, respectively;
FIGS. 4A and 4B are a plan view and a side elevational view of clutch disk,
respectively;
FIG. 5 is a plan view of a stacking device for stacking clutch plates and
clutch disks as disk-shaped works in an alternate relationship;
FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line VI--VI of FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line VII--VII of FIG. 5;
FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view of a gage unit and a transporting
apparatus;
FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view of an aligning and assembling apparatus
according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 10 is a plan view of a rotary head of the aligning and assembling
apparatus of FIG. 9;
FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along line XI--XI of FIG. 10;
FIG. 12 is an enlarged cross sectional view showing a pin inserted between
projections of clutch disks; and
FIG. 13 is a schematic bottom plan view showing the pin inserted between
the projections of the clutch disks of FIG. 12.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
In the following, the present invention will be described in detail in
connection with an embodiment shown in the drawings.
Referring first to FIG. 1, an automatic assembling machine shown includes a
work stocker 11, a stacking arm 12, a rotary arm 13, a gage unit 14, a
transporting apparatus 15 and an aligning and assembling apparatus 16.
The automatic assembling machine fits a plurality of such clutch plates 22
as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B and a plurality of such clutch disks 23 as
shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B both as disk-shaped works into a clutch guide 21
as a vessel-shaped work shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. In this instance,
projection 25 formed on an outer periphery of each of the clutch plates 22
are fitted in recessed grooves 24 formed on an inner peripheral wall of
the clutch guide 21. The clutch disks 23 have an outer diameter which is
substantially equal to the outer diameter of the clutch plates 22 and a
little smaller than the inner diameter of the clutch guide 21. It is to be
noted that the clutch plates 22 and the clutch disks 23 may be commonly
denoted by the word "work" or "works". In the following, the individual
components of the automatic assembling machine will be described in order.
(A) Work Stocker (FIGS. 5, 6 and 7)
The work stocker 11 includes a rotary ring 33 mounted for rotation in a
horizontal plane at a lower portion of a center column 30 as shown in FIG.
6. The rotary ring 33 is connected to be rotated by 120 degrees by a motor
31 by way of a rotation transmitting mechanism 32. Three clutch plate
stock rods 34 and three clutch disk stock rods 35 are provided uprightly
in an alternate relationship along a circumferential line on an upper face
of the rotary ring 33 as shown in FIG. 5. The clutch plate stock rod 34a
and the clutch disk stock rod 35a which are shown positioned individually
at leftmost positions in FIG. 5 are positioned at respective work
supplying positions and thus operate in pair. About 300 clutch plates 22
and clutch disks 23 are fitted on each of the rods 34 and 35,
respectively.
The rotation transmitting mechanism 32 is composed of a bevel gear 36, a
plurality of rollers 38 supported in a predetermined pitch for rotation on
a disk 37 which is rotated by way of the bevel gear 36, a sprocket wheel
39 for meshing engagement with the individual rollers 38, and so on.
Rotation exerted from the motor 31 is transmitted to the rotary ring 33
integral with the sprocket wheel 39 by way of the rotation transmitting
mechanism 32 so that the rotary ring 33 is rotated by an angle of 120
degrees at a point of time when the clutch plates 22 and clutch disks 23
are all supplied from the stock rods 34a and 35a, respectively, at the
individual work supplying positions to empty the stock rods 34a and 35a.
Consequently, the rods 34 and 35 which have been at their individual
stand-by positions are shifted to the work supplying positions indicated
at 34a and 35a, respectively.
A C-shaped fork 41 for pushing up works one by one is provided for each of
the stock rods 34a and 35a at the supplying positions as shown in FIG. 5.
The fork 41 is mounted for up and down movement along a pair of guide rods
42 and moved up and down by means of a ball screw 43. The ball screw 43 is
rotated by a variable speed motor 44 by way of a clutch brake 45 and a
pair of bevel gears 46 and 47 as seen in FIG. 7, and the fork 41 is
mounted on a female screw 48 with which the ball screw 43 is held in
threaded engagement. A member 51 is provided on the female screw 48, and a
sensor 52 such as a contactless switch is mounted at a predetermined
position for detecting a lower limit position of the member 51 while
another sensor 53 such as a contactless switch is located at another
predetermined position for detecting an upper limit position of the member
51. Further sensors 54 and 55 such as contactless switches for detecting a
face of a work at a lifted position and for detecting a work having a
different diameter, respectively, are disposed near upper ends of the
stock rods 34a and 35a, respectively, at the work supplying positions as
shown in FIG. 7.
When an uppermost one of works is to be taken out from the top end of the
stock rod 34a or 35a by means of a chuck of the stacking or layering arm
12 which will be hereinafter described, at a point of time when the
uppermost work is chucked, the variable speed motor 44 is activated to
move down the fork 41 once to separate the uppermost work from the other
works below, and then once the uppermost work is taken out, the variable
motor 44 is driven reversely to move up the fork 41 until the sensor 54
detects presence of a work again. The fork 41 is thus stopped at a
position moved by a distance equal to the thickness of the work from the
formerly lifted position. Consequently, the upper end of the works is
maintained constant. At the same time, in case the work has a different
diameter, the different diameter work is detected by the different
diameter work discriminating sensor 55.
(B) Stacking Arm (FIGS. 5, 6 and 7)
The stacking arm 12 has a T-shaped configuration as seen in FIG. 5 and is
supported at a base end thereof for pivotal motion on a shaft portion 60
at an upper face of the center column 30 by way of a bearing 61 or the
like as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. A pair of arm rocking cylinders 64 are
supported for pivotal motion by means of shafts 63 on a pair of mounting
plates 62 provided on the upper face of the center column 30 as shown in
FIG. 5, and an end of a piston rod 65 of each of the cylinders 64 is
connected to a member 69 integral with the T-shaped stacking arm 12 by
means of a shaft 66. Accordingly, as the piston rods 65 of the pair of
cylinders 64 are alternately driven to be extended and contracted, the
stacking arm 12 is rocked around a fulcrum provided by the shaft portion
60. A stopper 67 for restricting the range of rocking motion of the
stacking arm 12 is provided on the mounting plate 62, and an adjusting
screw 68 screwed into a member on the stacking arm 12 side is contacted
with and stopped by the stopper 67.
A pair of sets each including a chuck 71 for gripping a clutch plate 22 or
a clutch disk 23 thereon and a solenoid for moving the chuck 71 up and
down are provided at opposite end portions of the cross bar of the T-shape
of the stacking arm 12 as seen in FIGS. 6 and 7. Each of the chucks 71 is
an air chuck including three way claws 73 mounted for movement in radial
directions thereon as seen in FIG. 5, and when the three way claws 73 of
the chuck 71 are expanded or moved radially outwardly, they are pressed
against an inner peripheral face of a clutch plate 22 or a clutch disk 23.
Meanwhile, each of the solenoids 72 is mounted on a mounting plate 74 on
the stacking arm 12 as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, and a shaft 76 is connected
in an integral relationship to a driving shaft 75 for the solenoid 72. The
shaft 76 is fitted for up and down movement in a sleeve 77 fitted in the
stacking arm 12, and the air chuck 71 is connected to the solenoid 72 by
way of the shaft 76. A pin 78 for preventing rotation of the chuck is
provided in an integral relationship at an upper portion of the chuck 71
and fitted for up and down movement in the stacking arm 12.
When the three way claws 73 of the air chuck 71 are in a condition
retracted to the center side, that is, in a radially inwardly moved
positions, the shaft 76 is moved down by the solenoid 72 so that the claws
73 are fitted into the inside of one of the clutch plates 22 or clutch
disks 23 at an uppermost position of the stock rod 34a or 35a, and then
the three claws 73 are expanded or moved radially outwardly to hold the
one work from the inside, whereafter the work is moved up by activation of
the solenoid 72 and then the stacking arm 12 is pivoted by the cylinder 64
to move the work in a horizontal direction.
The stacking arm 12 is rocked leftwardly and rightwardly to alternately
chuck the clutch plates 22 and the clutch disks 23 at the top ends of the
stock rods 34a and 35a by means of the left and right chucks 71 thereon
and stack the works on a locator 80 which is located at an end of the
rotary arm 13 and will be hereinafter described in detail. Thus, a total
of six works, that is, three clutch plates 22 and three clutch disks 23,
are stacked on the locator 80.
(C) Rotary Arm
The rotary arm 13 includes a pair of stacking locators 80 and 81 mounted at
the opposite end portions thereof as shown in FIG. 6, and a central
portion of the rotary arm 13 is integrally fitted on and screwed to a
rotary shaft 84 of a motor 83 located at an upper end of a support 82. If
up to six works are fitted and stacked on one of the locators 80 and 81 by
the stacking arm 12, then the rotary arm 13 is rotated by an angle of 180
degrees around the rotary shaft 84 at the center thereof to feed the
stacked works to the gage unit 14. Each of the locators 80 and 81 has a
pair of recessed grooves 87 formed thereon such that a pair of chuck claws
of the transporting apparatus 15 which will be hereinafter described may
be inserted into the recessed grooves 87 to take out the stacked works
from the locator 80 or 81.
(D) Gage Unit (FIGS. 5, 6 and 8)
The gage unit 14 includes a pair of gages 91 disposed in an opposing
relationship to each other and having an arcuate configuration as seen in
FIG. 5 and a comb-shaped cross section as seen in FIG. 8. It is to be
noted that, in FIG. 8, the right-hand side gage 91 is shown at its
upwardly moved position while the left-hand side gage 91 is shown at its
downwardly moved position. The gage unit 14 includes a vertically movable
plate 95 mounted for up and down vertical movement under the guidance of a
rod 94 which is fitted in a slide bearing 93 of a base 92. The vertically
movable plate 95 is moved up and down by a vertically moving cylinder 96
mounted on the base 92. A pair of horizontal guide members 97 are disposed
on a straight line on an upper face of the vertically movable plate 95,
and a slider 98 is fitted for sliding movement in each of the guide
members 97. A gage receiver 99 is provided in an integral relationship on
each of the slider 98, and the gages 91 are individually screwed to the
gage receivers 99. The gage receivers 99 in pair are moved in directions
toward and away from each other by individual air cylinders not shown.
The gages 91 normally assume their stand-by positions as shown by the
left-hand side gage 91 in FIG. 8 wherein they are at the downwardly moved
positions and spaced away from each other in an open condition. Then, if
six stacked works are fed to the gage 91 by the rotary arm 13, the gages
91 are moved upwardly as shown by the right-hand side gage 91 in FIG. 8
and further moved toward each other whereupon they hold the stacked works
fitted on the locator 81 from the opposite sides. In this instance, the
projections 25 of the clutch plates 22 are fitted into the recessed
grooves 91a of the gage 91 while projections 91b of the gages 91 are
fitted with the outer peripheries of the clutch disks 23.
If the six works are stacked in a correct order when the gages 91 are
closed or moved toward each other, then the gages 91 can advance to
individually predetermined positions. On the other hand, if the six works
are not stacked in a correct order or a work having a different thickness
is mixed in the six works, or else if more than six works are stacked, the
gages 91 will be stopped forwardly of the predetermined positions, which
will be detected by a sensor not shown.
The gages 91 have another function to center the clutch plates 22 and the
clutch disks 23.
(E) Transporting Apparatus (FIG. 8)
The transporting apparatus 15 includes guide rods 101 extending in a
horizontal direction, and a horizontal slider 102 fitted on the guide rods
101 for sliding movement by an air cylinder not shown or the like A
vertical guide member 103 is mounted in an integral relationship on the
slider 102, and a vertical slider 104 is fitted on the vertical guide
member 103 for up and down vertical movement by an air cylinder not shown
or the like. A transporting head 107 is mounted on the vertical slider 104
by means of supporting members 105 and 106. A chuck 108 for holding a work
thereon is provided on the transporting head 107. The chuck 108 includes a
pair of claws 109 having an inverted U-shaped configuration as shown in
FIG. 8. The claws 109 are inserted in the recessed grooves 87 of the
locator 81 when they are in such an inwardly moved or closed condition as
shown by the left-hand side claw 109a in FIG. 5, and when they are moved
outwardly or opened as shown by the right-hand side claw 109b in FIG. 5,
they hold works from the inside.
Thus, after the gages 91 are retracted from works, the chuck 108 which
holds the works thereon by means of the claws 109 thereof is moved up
under the guidance of the vertical guide member 103, and then the works
are taken out of the locator 81 and the stacked works are transported in a
horizontal direction along the guide rods 101.
Further, a plurality of pressing rings 112 are provided around the claws
109 of the chuck 108 as shown in FIG. 8. The pressing rings 112 are each
supported on a rod 111 fitted for up and down movement on the transporting
head 107 and normally urged downwardly by a spring 113. A stack number
sensor 114 such as a contactless switch is located adjacent and above each
of the rods 111.
Thus, stacked works held by the claws 109 are pressed by the pressing rings
112 from above to prevent displacement of the works during transportation.
Since a ring 112 assumes a position lower than its predetermined vertical
position when the number of the stacked works is smaller than 6, the
vertical position of the rod 111 is detected by the sensor 114 to judge
whether or not the works are in a correctly stacked condition.
When a different work is detected at the stocker 11, when a rejected or
defective work is detected by checking at the gage unit 14 and when a lack
in number of works is detected at the pressing ring 112, the works are
transported to a discharging stock rod 117 (FIG. 1) having a similar
configuration to the stock rods 34 and 35 of the work stocker 11, and then
at the position, the chuck 108 is actuated to close the claws 109 to
remove the claws 109 from the works to permit the works to drop onto the
discharging stock rod 117.
In case there is no error with the works, they are then transported to the
aligning and assembling apparatus 16.
(F) Aligning and Assembling Apparatus (FIGS. 9 to 13)
As shown in FIG. 1, the aligning and assembling apparatus 16 is located
above a conveyor 120 which is provided for carrying a clutch guide 21.
FIG. 9 shows the aligning and assembling apparatus 16. The aligning and
assembling apparatus 16 includes a guide rail 122 provided on a post
member 121, and a rotary head mounting plate 123 having a slider 124
fitted for up and down movement on the guide rail 122. A rotary head
vertically moving cylinder 126 is secured at an upper portion of the post
member 121 by way of a bracket 125 and has a piston rod 127 connected to
the rotary head mounting plate 123. A hollow rotary shaft 132 is fitted
for rotation on the mounting plate 123 by means of a bearing 131, and an
annular rotary head 134 is provided in an integral relationship with a
lower flange portion 133 of the rotary shaft 132. A plurality of
positioning rollers 135 are supported for rotation on an outer periphery
of the rotary head 134. A gear 136 is fitted in an integral relationship
at an upper portion of the rotary shaft 132 and held in meshing engagement
with a gear not shown of a rotary shaft of a variable speed motor 130
provided on the mounting plate 123. An air cylinder 137 is formed on the
rotary head 134, and a piston 138 is fitted for up and down movement in
the air cylinder 137 and has pins 139 formed in an integral relationship
thereon The pins 139 have such a rectangular cross section as shown in
FIG. 13.
The pins 139 include, as shown in FIG. 10, four pins 139a disposed on a
circumferential line of a radius A from the center of the rotary head 134,
and other four pins 139b disposed on another circumferential line of a
radius B (B<A) from the center of the rotary head 134. The pins 139a and
139b are disposed in an irregularly spaced relationship on the individual
circumferential lines. The pins 139a and the other pins 139b are not used
at the same time, but either the pins 139a or the pins 139b are
selectively used in accordance with a type of works to be handled.
Selection of the pins is performed by a pair of circuits of air supply
paths shown in FIGS. 9 and 11. One of the air supply paths has a
communicating hole 142 communicated with an air opening 140 shown in FIG.
9 by way of an annular groove 141. The communicating hole 142 is further
communicated with an upper portion of each of air cylinders 137a located
on the circumferential line of the larger diameter as shown in FIG. 11 so
that a piston 138a within the cylinder 137a and a pin 139a integral with
the piston 138a may be resiliently pushed downwardly by an air pressure
The annular groove 143 is communicated with a lower portion of each of air
cylinders 137b located on the circumferential line of the smaller diameter
by way of a rotary head communicating hole 144 shown in FIG. 11 so that a
piston 138b within the cylinder 137b and a pin 139b integral with the
piston 138b may be pushed upwardly by an air pressure. Meanwhile, the
other air supply path has a communicating hole 147 communicated with an
air opening 145 shown in FIG. 9 by way of an annular groove 146. The
communicating hole 147 is further communicated with an upper portion of
each of the air cylinders 137b located on the circumferential line of the
smaller diameter as shown in FIG. 11 so that the piston 138b within the
cylinder 137b and the pin 139b integral with the piston 138b may be
resiliently pushed downwardly by an air pressure. The annular groove 148
is communicated with a lower portion of each of the air cylinders 137a
located on the circumferential line of the greater diameter by way of a
rotary head communicating hole 149 shown in FIG. 11 so that the piston
138a within the cylinder 137a and the pin 139a integral with the piston
138a may be pushed upwardly by an air pressure.
Accordingly, if magnetic valves or some other suitable controlling elements
not shown are controlled to control supply of air into the air opening 140
and discharge of air through the other air opening 145, only the pins 139a
in the air cylinders 137a located on the circumferential line of the
greater diameter are resiliently projected from the rotary head 134 as
shown in FIG. 11 while the other pins 139b in the air cylinders 137b are
retracted into the rotary head 134. On the other hand, if air is
discharged through the air opening 140 while air is supplied into the
other air opening 145, only the pins 139b in the air cylinders 137b
located on the circumferential line of the smaller diameter are
resiliently projected from the rotary head 134 while the pins 139a in the
air cylinders 137a located on the circumferential line of the greater
diameter are retracted into the rotary head 134. In this manner, the pins
139 can readily cope with a change in diameter of clutch plates 22 to be
handled by the same.
Returning back to FIG. 9, an air cylinder 152 for a pusher is mounted on an
upper side of the rotary head mounting plate 123 by means of a supporting
member 151, a rod 154 slidably fitted for up and down movement within the
hollow rotary shaft 132 is connected to a piston rod of the cylinder 152,
and a disk-shaped pusher 155 made of a plastic material is mounted in an
integral relationship at a lower end portion of the rod 154. The pusher
155 operates to resiliently press against an upper face of stacked works
with an air pressure to drop the works compulsorily into the inside of a
clutch guide 21.
Since movement of the pusher 155 is the same as movement of a piston within
the cylinder 152, if a pair of contactless switches 157 and 158 are
provided at upper and lower portions of the cylinder 152 each by means of
a band 156 in order to detect movement of the internal piston of the
cylinder 152, then movement of the pusher 155 in the up and down
directions can be detected Here, the upper contactless switch 157 acts as
an upward movement stopping sensor while the lower contactless switch 158
acts as a pushing completing sensor
Further, a pair of sliders 162 of a work guide mounting member 161 are
fitted for up and down movement at a lower portion of the guide rail 122
of the post member 121, and a cylinder 164 for moving a work guide
upwardly and downwardly is secured to the post member 121 by means of a
bracket 163. A piston rod 165 of the cylinder 164 is connected to the work
guide mounting member 161, and an annular work guide 166 is fitted in an
integral relationship with the work guide mounting member 161. As shown in
FIG. 12, a tapered face 167 is formed at an upper portion of an inner
circumferential face of the work guide 166 for permitting smooth insertion
of works into the inside of the work guide 166 while another tapered face
168 is formed at a lower face of the inner circumferential face of the
work guide 166 for permitting smooth insertion of a clutch guide 21 into
the inside of the work guide 166. A step or shoulder 169 is provided above
the tapered face 168 of the work guide 166 for engaging with an upper end
of the clutch guide 21.
Such a clutch guide 21 is placed by means of a jig 172 on a pallet 171
which is transported by the work transporting conveyor 120 and thus
transported to a position just below the work guide 166 by the conveyor
120.
In the following, operation of the aligning and assembling apparatus 16
will be described.
(a) After a clutch guide 21 carried in by means of a pallet 171 is
positioned just below the work guide 166, the work guide 166 is moved down
by the cylinder 164 and thus fitted around the outer periphery of the
clutch guide 21 to center the clutch guide 21 thereto.
(b) Six stacked works carried by the chuck 108 of the transporting
apparatus 15 are set in position in the work guide 166 and placed on an
opening edge of the clutch guide 21. The inner diameter of the work guide
is made a little smaller than the diameter of the recessed grooves on the
inner side of the clutch guide so that it may act as a downwardly moving
guide upon centering and assembling of clutch plates 22.
(c) The rotary head 134 is moved down by the cylinder 126 Since the four
pins 139 are projected downwardly from the rotary head 134 and
individually formed in an integral relationship with the pistons 138 of
the small air cylinders 137 such that they may be retracted readily into
the rotary head 134 by a force from below, when the rotary head 134 is
moved down, a pin 139 will be retracted in case it is contacted with and
stopped by an upper face of a projection 25 of a clutch plate 22, but it
can extend to a position between adjacent projections 25 of a lowermost
clutch plate 22 in case it is positioned in the recesses 26 between
adjacent projections of all of the clutch plates 22 as shown in FIG. 13.
(d) When the rotary head 134 is rotated by a rotating force transmitted to
the gear 136 from the variable speed motor 130, a pin 139 which has been
held stopped by an upper face of a projection 25 of a clutch plate 22 will
soon be disengaged from the projection 25 of the clutch plate 22 so that
it will finally inserted in recesses 26 between adjacent projections 25 of
the three clutch plates 22 as shown in FIG. 12. Then, as the circular
movement of the pins 139 is continued by the rotary head 134, the pins 139
will be engaged with the projections 25 in a circumferential direction to
turn the clutch plates 22 until the projections 25 of the clutch plates 22
are aligned with each other.
(e) As rotation of the rotary head 134 further continues, the projections
25 of the lowermost one of the clutch plates 22 are aligned with the
recessed grooves 24 of the clutch guide 21 whereupon the lowermost clutch
plates 22 drops into the clutch guide 21 together with a clutch disk 23
lying on the upper side thereof. Each time the rotary head 134 is rotated
by a further angle of 45 degrees, the second clutch plate 22 and clutch
disk 23 and the third clutch plate 22 and clutch disk 23 are successively
permitted to drop into the clutch guide 21. In this instance, the pusher
155 located in the inside of the rotary head 134 exerts a downward urging
force so as to facilitate dropping of the clutch plates 22. In particular,
since the difference (clearance) between the width of the clutch guide
recessed grooves 24 and the width of the clutch plate projections 25, just
at an instant when such a clearance appears, the pusher 155 exerts an
acceleration to push and drop a clutch plate. Since, in connection with
this, the variable speed motor 130 is used as a motor for driving the
rotary head 134, a best assembling condition can be established by
adjusting the rotational speed of the variable speed motor 130 together
with an air pressure of the air cylinder 152 of the pusher 155. It is to
be noted that since the projections 25 of the three clutch plates 22 are
aligned with each other during rotation of the clutch plates 22, when the
projections 25 of the clutch plates 22 are aligned with the recessed
grooves 24 of the clutch guide 21, two or three of the clutch plates 22
may sometimes drop into the clutch guide 21 together with clutch disks 23
lying thereon.
(f) When assembly of a total of 6 clutch plates 22 and clutch disks 23 is
completed, the internal piston of the pusher cylinder 152 reaches the
position of the contactless switch 158 so that the contactless switch 158
is turned on to detect such completion of assembly.
It is to be noted that the embodiment described hereinabove has the
following excellent advantages. In particular, since disk-shaped works are
compulsorily pressed by the pusher 155, the recessed grooves 24 of the
clutch guide 21 and the projections 25 of the clutch plates 22 which have
only a small clearance left therebetween can be fitted with each other
with certainty and with a high degree of efficiency. Further, since the
plurality of pins 139 on the rotary head 134 are disposed in an
irregularly spaced relationship with respect to distances of the
projections 25 of disk-shaped works, one of the pins 139 may be inserted
between adjacent projections 25 from the beginning without being disturbed
by any projection 25 of the disk-shaped works, and accordingly the
disk-shaped works can be assembled in a short period of time without
having a loss time. Moreover, since the pins 139 of the rotary head 134
are formed in an integral relationship with the pistons 138 of the air
cylinders 137, an equal air pressure is normally applied to the pins 139,
and the resilient pressing force of the pins 139 can be varied readily by
adjusting the air pressure. Besides, since either ones of the pins 139a
and 139b which are disposed on circumferential lines of different
diameters are selectively projected from the rotary head 134 when they are
to be used, the rotary head 134 can readily cope with two different type
of disk-shaped works having different diameters only by changing over the
air supply passages, and accordingly, arrangement for the two types of
disk-shaped works can b made very easily.
However, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiment
described hereinabove. In particular, works are not limited to such a
clutch guide or such clutch plates 22 or clutch disks 23 as described
hereinabove. Further, the pusher 155 is not necessarily required
Meanwhile, only one pin 139 may otherwise be provided, or else a plurality
of pins 139 may be disposed in an equidistantly spaced relationship With
respect to the projections 25 which are spaced in an equidistantly spaced
relationship of a disk-shaped work. Further, a spring, a weight or me
other element may be employed as means for resiliently pushing down the
pins 139. In addition, the two groups of pins 139a and 139b provided on
the rotary head 134 are only intended for illustration, and any number of
groups of such pins may be provided.
According to the present invention, an apparatus for aligning and
assembling such disk-shaped works having projections on outer peripheries
thereof as clutch plates which are assembled in an alternate relationship
with a plurality of clutch disks to the inside of a clutch guide in order
to form a multiple disk clutch has such a construction as described in
detail hereinabove. Thus, since disk-shaped Works on a vessel-shaped work
are rotated by the pin until the projections of the disk-shaped works are
aligned with the recessed grooves of the vessel-shaped work to fit the
disk-shaped works into the vessel-shaped work, there is no necessity of
aligning operation between the projections of disk-shaped works and the
recessed grooves of the vessel-shaped work until after a plurality of
disk-shaped works are placed on the vessel-shaped work. Accordingly,
setting of the disk-shaped works can be made readily, and an assembling
operation of such works can be made readily with certainty.
Further, since only a mechanism for moving the pin on a circumferential
line must be mainly provided, the assembling apparatus which is used for
assembling operation of such works can be formed in a comparatively simple
construction.
While the invention has been described and shown with particular reference
to the preferred embodiment, it will be apparent that variations might be
possible that would fall within the scope of the present invention which
is not intended to be limited except as defined in the following claims.
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